JD Vance refused to apologize for using Caitlin Upton’s disastrous appearance at the Teen USA beauty pageant as his punching bag to mock Kamala Harris.
It takes less than a minute for a presidential campaign to do a Google search on someone they are about to ridicule. Caitlin Upton struggled with depression and had suicidal thoughts after her performance became a meme.
BERMAN: After CNN released a small clip of the Harris interview, you posted a clip from a 2007 Miss Teen USA beauty pageant, Caitlin Upton, on Twitter and wrote, “I have gotten a hold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview.”
Now, this thing that surfaced around the internet for a few years, she had, you know, she struggled answering a question back in this beauty pageant.
I’m not sure you’re aware, in 2015, Caitlin Upton did an interview in New York Magazine about all the social media attention this clip got, and she said, I definitely went through a period where I was very, very depressed, but I never let anybody see that stuff except for people I could trust.
I had some very dark moments where I thought about committing suicide.
So when you posted this last night, were you aware that the woman you were posting a picture of had contemplated committing suicide for the attention it received?
VANCE: No, certainly not, John, and my heart goes out to her, and I hope that she’s doing well.
Now, his heart goes out to Upton after he revisits one of the worst moments of her life in service of demented Donald.
VANCE: Look, I’ve said a lot of things on camera.
I’ve said a lot of stupid things on camera.
Sometimes when you’re in the public eye, you make mistakes, and again, I think the best way to deal with it is to laugh at ourselves, laugh at this stuff, and try to have some fun in politics.
I posted a meme from 20 years ago, and I think the fact that we’re talking about that instead of the fact that American families can’t afford groceries or healthcare, young families can’t afford to buy a home to raise their families in, those are the real crises that we should focus on, and there’s nothing that says that we can’t tell some jokes along the way while we deal with the very serious business of bringing back our public policy.
Saying stupid things on TV when you are a pundit is not an excuse for attacking a young lady as part of a presidential ticket. Many political pundits do not say stupid things, JD.
Again with the ‘jokes’ defense. What is with this idiot?
VANCE: Politics has gotten way too lame, John, way too boring.
You can have some fun while making a good argument to the American people about how you’re going to improve their lives.
BERMAN: Okay, I just want to be clear, though. You said you didn’t know. Would you like to apologize to Caitlyn Upton for posting that last night, given what you’ve now learned?
John, I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke, but I wish the best for Caitlyn.
I hope that she’s doing well, and again, what I’d say is one bad moment shouldn’t define anybody, and the best way to deal with this stuff is to laugh at ourselves.
So, Vance won’t apologize for making an inappropriate and demeaning analogy of a young woman and hopes Olsen doesn’t kill herself, too.
What a guy.
Upton responds to JD.
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